My review of “The Story of Kullervo," an unfinsihed story by J.R.R. Tolkien based on six chapters, or “runos,” from “The Kalevala,” an epic poem compiled from Finnish oral folklore. Drafted sometime from 1912 to 1916, when Tolkien was in his 20s, his version represents the then-poet and philologist’s baby steps toward prose storytelling. Read the rest over at the Boston Globe.

The many maps and sketches he made while drafting The Lord of the Rings informed his storytelling, allowing him to test narrative ideas and illustrate scenes he needed to capture in words. For Tolkien, the art of writing and the art of drawing were inextricably intertwined.